The Last Thylacine

Once I ruled this heart-shaped land.
My clan roamed far and wide.
The ancient forest was my home.
The gods were on my side.

 

Every leafy shrub was mine.
Every blade of grass.
Every creature trembled when
the Thylacinus passed.

 

I proudly walked the forest floor
beneath nocturnal skies.
But now I pace a barbwire cage:
a freak for human eyes.

*

My species has been slaughtered
for food, for prize, for fun.
Of all the wolves that roamed this isle,
I’m now the only one.

 

‘That happened many years ago,’
they argue in defence.
‘Now we’ll try and save you,’
they utter with pretence.

 

But what astounds me chiefly
is the self-appointed jury
that chooses not to recognise
the reason for my fury.

 

 

 

Hobart Zoo 1933 [Source: Wikicommons]

 

 

 

More from Damian Balassone can be read HERE

 

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